Dorothy Deane Livingston f. Miller 1914–2012

Dorothy M. Livingston, formerly of West 9th Street, and currently of Sunrise Assisted Living of Presque Isle Bay, passed on Monday, May 14, 2012.

She was born on November 20, 1914 in Milwaukee, Wis., daughter of the late Karl F. Miller and Deane Marshall Miller.

Mrs. Livingston was a graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College (now merged with Lawrence University) with a B.S. Degree in Occupational Therapy. Her career began in Madison, Wisconsin at the Wisconsin General Hospital's Neuropsychiatric Institute and the Children's Orthopedic Hospital, followed by several years at the Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey and then to Atlanta, Georgia at the then Lawson General Hospital (Army) both as Chief of Occupational Therapy, the latter as a civilian serving under the Surgeon General's Office.

With the end of World War II, she transferred, again as Chief of Occupational Therapy, to Kennedy General Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee as it changed from Military to the Veteran's Administration. In Erie she was with (at that time) the Crippled Children's Society and its Cerebral Palsy Clinic. She then again served as Chief of Occupational Therapy and Coordinator of Rehabilitation at the Erie Veterans Administration Medical Center for 21 years. In the early 1970's through LAHEC (VA) and the Occupational Therapy Department at SUNY-Buffalo, she was one of the coordinators who planned and presented three-2-week long Seminars to develop trained Activity Directors for the area, a new and mandated profession for those working with the elderly, particularly those in Nursing Homes. After retiring from the VA Medical Center, she did Home Service visits with the Whole Person Home Health Agency. She has served for 18 ½ years as a Consultant Occupational Therapist in the Adult ICF/MR Division of the Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Center, Inc., retiring in June, 2002.

Her marriage to Fred S. Livingston, who was originally from Pittsburgh, whom she had met in Atlanta during World War II, brought her to Erie. Together, their interests were with the Art Community and with young people in the community. She was active in PTA and served as President of Longfellow PTA when her children attended there. Mrs. Livingston has been an active member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for 50 years. In the past, she had belonged to the Evening Department of the Woman's Club. She held memberships in the Art Museum, Erie County Historical Society, Discovery Center, Erie Zoological Society, Asbury Woods Nature Center, Presque Isle Audubon Society. She also was a loyal attendee of the Erie Philharmonic Symphony and Pops Concerts. She was a member of a travel group known as the Tfffwmofs.

As a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist, she was a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the local division of the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA). For over 50 years, she was a volunteer with the Local American Cancer Society as a facilitator for the Lost Chord Club of Erie, a support group for Laryngectomees.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Livingston in 1983, a sister, Meredythe M. Glenn of Lynchburg, Virginia, and brother-in-law George Kennison.

She is survived by a sister, Patricia M. Kennison of San Mateo, California, a daughter, Heidi Steffy and her husband Charles of Erie, and by two sons, Eric and his wife Eliza of Seattle, Washington and Keith and his wife Susan of Seattle, Wash. Also survived by five grandchildren, Todd and Melinda Steffy of Erie and Lt. Jordyn Pugh and her husband Captain Travis Pugh of Japan, Erin and Skye Livingston, three step grandchildren, Angela Steffy Skeith and her husband George Shelby, North Carolina, Heather Steffy of South Carolina, Richard Steffy and his wife Jessica of Atlanta, Georgia, and three great grandchildren: Madeline and Dane Skeith, and Ryann Steffy. Also many nieces and nephews and extended family, Michael and Donna Stafford of Morrisville, Vermont